1. (

• elusive

) difficult to describe; "a haunting elusive odor" ;

2. (

• elusive

) skillful at eluding capture; "a cabal of conspirators, each more elusive than the archterrorist"- David Kline ;

3. (

• elusive ,
• subtle

) difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze; "his whole attitude had undergone a subtle change"; "a subtle difference"; "that elusive thing the soul" ;

4. (

• baffling ,
• elusive ,
• knotty ,
• problematic ,
• problematical ,
• tough ,

) making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe; "a baffling problem"; "I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast"; "a problematic situation at home" ;